Gas meter



H. F. TOLHURST. GAS METER. APPLICATION -HLED Aus. la, 1916. RErIEwED luna 30.1919.

,4& 32,f80f9. Patented 0@t.24,1922.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

u *al 'N H. F. TOLHURST.

` GAS METER. u A APPLICATION FILED AUG-1B, 1916. RENEWED IUNE 30,1919.

31,432,809, Patented Oct. 24, 1922..

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented @et Zei, 1922.

maar

GAS METER.

Application filed August is, 191e, serial iro. 115,651. Renewed .Tune 3o, 1ere.

To all whom-t may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, HERBERT F. TOLHURST, citizen or' the United States, residing at Cleveland, inthe county ,of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful -Improvements in Gas Meters, of which the following is a specication.A

This invention relates to iluidineters, and

u more particularly to gasmeters. `The objects of the invention are togenerally improve and `simplify the construction of the meter; to provide a more durable meter; one whose inner working parts are removable bodily from the ,casing and may be replaced when out of order; one whose'casing has a minimum number of sealedy and irnished joints; one whose valve is of's'imple lform and is not liable toget out of order; one which avoids theft lof gas `by attempts to reverse the directionof operation of the meter; and finally a meter having a lesser number Iof measuring chambers or pockets than ,customarily employed in similar meters. Further objects of the invention are in part obvious andV in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

rilie invention comprises the fluid meter hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, whichrepresent one embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation on the line 1 1, Figari; Fig, 2 is a similar section on the line-2-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan View with a portion of the cover broken, away to expose the mechanism; Fig. 4 is a tansverse sectional elevation through the axis of rotation of the valve device; Fig. 5 isfa plan view of the valve seat; Fig. 61's a similar view ol" the valve; Fig. 7 isa detail elevation, illustrating a stop device; and Fig. `8 is a detail View of an operating shaft.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the Outer casing, which is .of simple form and preferably `comprises only two n'ieinbers,V a `cap member 2 and a body member having plain finished meeting faces held together by clamping bolts 4: passing through earson the iianges 5. The shape of said members is immaterial, so long .as they conform to and receive the inner working ,parts .and have sui'iicient capacity for the required operations. The casingis preferablyv made ofcastmetal, such as iron, as ,light as possible, but still heavy enough to prevent ilaws .or pin-holes Vpipe 10,.

Serial No. 307,786.

which might permit leakage. Such a casing will not rust out as is the case with tin or other tin sheet inetal casings, and also avoids soldered orbrazed joints.

The space or cavity within the casing is divided into cap and bodycompartments or pockets 6, 7, by a suitable cross wall o rdiapliragmS., whose edges are clamped between the meeting faces of the casing members. This cross wall also serves as a support ior the bellows and other operating mechanism. The fluid or gas to be measured yis all ad# mitted or supplied to the fluid receiving chamber 6 from the 'supply pipe 9 and iicws through the measuring devices yte a delivery pipe l0 passing through the chamber 6 and leading to the delivery line. y i

"`Within thebody chamber is a vdouble bellows formed by a central longitudinal wall 11v and twoparallel metal walls or discs 12 connected thereto by `flexible leathers 13. W all 11`does not extend outwardly to the casing so that there are V,in 4effect three separate measuring chambers in the body, to wit, the outer body compartment i' and the two like compartments 14 within the two bellows. `These three chambers communi cate independently with three ports 15, 16, 17 in a valve seat 18 carried by the cross wall 8. Port 15 is above and opens onboth sides of a portion of the ceiit-ral wall 11, .as shown in Fig. 5, while ports 16 and 1T communicate through closed passages 19 with their respective chambers 14, as shown in Fig. el. n

Upon the valve seat 18 is a rotary valve 20. which maybe of any `suitable Vterni, butis shown as a sheet metal member held to its seat by the pressure oi" the fluid in the cap chamber 6 and provided with a through port 21 and pressed upwardly to .form a hollow passage 22on its bottom tace. This passage overlaps a central port 23 in the valve seat and in all positions of said valve establishes communication from one or more of the ports 15, 16, 17 through the port 23 'to a longitudinal passage 24 leading to the delivery Valve member 2O rotates constantly on its yseat when .the gas is ilowing, its lport 2l and passage 22 passing in turn over thethreeseat ports 15, 16 and 17 leading to the measuring compartments. lWhile port 21 is passing over one of lsaid seat ports gas iiowsunder `pressure into the corresponding measuring chamber while when the passage 22 passes over said seat port gas flows from the corresponding measuring chamber out to the delivery pipe, each of said chambers being filled and emptied in turn, as is customary in this type of meter. lf the casing is of the same size as the usual forms of meter having four measuring compartments, this three? compartment meter will give the same measuring capacity, although the mechanism is simpler and cheaper to manufacture and keep in order.

The valve movement is produced by the pumping action of the bellows whose discs 12 move out and in as the bellows ldilate and contract. Said discs have a parallel motion toward and from each other, which motion is communicated to the registering apparatus by the flag wires 25. These fiag wires are vertical rods journalled in packings or stuffing lboxes 26 carried by the cross wall 87 their lower ends turning in bearings or openings in lugs or shelves 27 on the casing wall. These lower bearings are fairly close to the cross wall 8 and prevent any lateral play or movement of the flag wires and not only permit the use of shorter flag wires than usual butv also serve as an additional rigid connection from the meter mechanism to the casing at a lower level than the wall 8.' Each flag wire has-an arm 28 whose free end turns in openings in posts 29 attachedv to a disc 12, vsaid two posts preventing the disc from tilting about a horizontal axis. Tilting movement of each disc about a vertical axis is prevented by a U-shaped wire bail or member 30 whose ends are sprung into openings in brackets 31 carried by the wall 11 and whose central straight body portion lies be tween the disc and flag wire, and more specifically beneath a bridge 32 from post to post. As the disc moves in and out said wire bail swings about a horizontal axis through its ends and its body portion slides up and down under the bridge 32. Above -the stufling boxes 26 the flag wires are provided with arms 33 connected by links 34 to a pivot pin 35 on an arm 36 extending out. wardly from the upper end of a vertical shaft 87 journalled in brackets 38`carried by the cross wall 8, and which shaft has a coln lar 89 resting on the lower bracket and a cavity in its lower end to receive a central Jin attached to the valve. This pin forms a pivot about which the valve turns but as the shaft is supported by the lower bracket 88 there is no weight upon the valve and it is held to its seat only by fluid pressure with minimum friction von its seat. Shaft 37 also has a radial arm 41 whose end lies between two ears 42 on the valve. The dilation and contraction of the two bellows oscillate the arms 33, which together produce a rotary movement of the shaft and turn the valve upon its seat. The rotation of the shaft is also communicated by a worm 43 and worm gear 44 to a cross shaft 45 passing through a stuffing box 46 to the outside of the frame and thereattached to a suitable register, which counts up the num- `ber of revolutions of the shaft and thereby registers and indicates the volume of fluid measured in the usual manner.

Pivot pin 35 is carried by a member 47 held between two lockl nuts 48 threaded on the arm 36. By adjusting said member along the arm the number of revolutions of the shaft 37 per unit of volume of gas measured may be increased or diminished, enabling the meter to be calibrated to the register. v p

The meter also is provided with athief catcher, designed to prevent unauthorized use of gas by re-arranging the connections to the meter so as the gas will flow backwardly therethrough. For this purpose the l.valve 2O is provided with a circumferen tially extending vertical `wall 49 whose upper edge is inclined and travels past a hinged stop-or pawl 50 supported on the bracket 88. When the valve rotates in the proper direction, i. "e., to the left in Fig. 7, the high part `of the wall strikes the stop first and Vsaidv stop lifts and dragsover the inclined edge of the wall from its high toits low point. However, if the meter is run backwardly by reversing the supply and de livery connections to the pipes 9 and l0, the low part of the wall first engages the stop and serves as a wedge` to jam said stop tightly against its bracket. The high part of the wall is above the lower end of the stop and cannot pass the same in the reversed direction .of rotation. The meter,

therefore, stops'if attempts are made to reverse it. Moreover, the hinged stop 50 holds t-he valve tightly against its seat so that no gas can possibly flow through the meter by raising the valve from its seat, as is the case with prior devices of this kind.

The meter described is of simple construction and can be manufactured atv low cost. lts capacity is equal to that of theisame sized meter with a larger number of measure ing compartments. lts valve is simple and operates with minimum friction. The reduction in the number of parts and their simpler arrangement also reduces and practically eliminates noise so that the meter is silent in operation. The inner working parts are all supported by the cross wall or plate .8 `so lthat by removing the cap all of the internal parts can be taken out as a unit. This enables the casing to be immediately lreplaced in service by substituting a new set longitudinal wall. The entire meter is therefore, less liable to leak than meters as usually constructed.

`VVhat I claim is l. A fluid meter, comprising a casing having a cap and body provided with meeting faces, a supporting wall clamped between said faces, and fluid measuring devices carried by said cross wall and free on all sides from the walls of said body.

2. A fluid meter, comprising a casing having a cap and body provided with meeting faces, a supporting wall clamped between said faces, and fluid measuring devices carried by said cross wall and depending in the lower chamber in said body, said devices being free on all sides from the walls of said body and being removable bodily from said casing with said supporting wall.

3. A liuid meter, comprising a casing, a cross wall therein forming a receiving chamber on one side of said wall and an outer measuring compartment on the other side thereof, two bellows both exposed in said compartment, each having a measuring compartment therein, a valve seat on said wall provided with three ports, one communicating with each of said three measuring` compartments, and a valve working on said seat controlling the flow of fluid from said receiving chamber to said three compart ments.

fl. A fluid meter, comprising a casing, a horizontal supporting member therein, measuring bellows carried by said member and pendant therefrom, flag wires extending above and below said member, bearings for said flag wires supported on the side walls of said casing, and arms extending from said flag wires to the bellows.

5. In a fluid meter, a supporting wall, a diaphragm attached thereto, bellows on opposite sides of said diaphragm and including reciprocating discs, flag wires, posts carried by said discs and pivotally engaging said flag wires, and hinged bails carried by said diaphragm and passing between said posts and beneath said flag wires for pre-- venting tilting movement of said discs.

6. A fluid meter, comprising a casing, a horizontally extending supporting member therein, a diaphragm attached thereto, bellows on opposite sides of said diaphragm and including reciprocating discs, iag wires, posts carried by said discs and supporting said flag wires, and hinged bails carried by said diaphragm and passing between said posts and beneath said flag wires for preventing tilting movement of said bellows,

the diaphragm, discs, and supporting member being together removable as a unit from the casing.

7. In a fluid meter, a supporting member, a valve seat thereon provided with ports, a valve rotating on said seat, bellows members carried by said member whose chambers communicate with said ports, a shaft above the center of said valve operated by Said bellows, and a pin on said valve entering an opening in the lower end of said shaft and forming a pivot for said valve.

8. In a fluid meter, a supporting wall, a valve seat thereon provided with ports, a valve rotating on said seat, bellows members whose chambers communicate with said ports,'a shaft above said valve and operated by said bellows, a circumferentially extending wall having an inclined upper edge carried by said valve, and a hinged pawl lying in the path of movement of said wall and arranged to co-operate with its inclined up per edge to prevent backward rotation o'' said valve.

9. Ina fluid meter, comprising a casing, a supporting wall therein forming a fluid receiving chamber and a measuring compartment, a diaphragm carried by said wall and lying in said compartment and free at its edges from the walls thereof, and bellows members located on opposite sides of said diaphragm.

l0. A fluid meter, comprising a casing having a cap and body provided with meeting faces, a supporting member extending across and removable from the cavity formed by said cap and body, and fluid measuring bellows carried by and removable with said member from the cap and body and free on all sides from the walls of said body.

ll. A fluid meter, comprising a casing having a cap and body provided with meeting faces, a supporting member extending across and removable from the cavity formed by said cap and body, fluid measuring bellows carried by said member and depending in said cavity, and a wall separated by said bellows and carried by said member, said bellows and wall being free on all sides from the walls of said body and being removable bodily from said casing with said member.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

HERBERT F. TOLHURST.

Vitnesses MARTHA B. MCCARTNEY, HENRY GREENWALD. 

